Class Notes

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Brian Palliser (1962) was recently awarded a Queens Service Medal for his outstanding service. Brian has volunteered in a variety of roles with the New Zealand Automobile Association since 1984, including District President and District and National Councillor. He has represented the interests of private motorists in the area of traffic safety and advocated for improved public transport. He was a board member of the J R McKenzie Trust for more than 15 years, and been a member of the Christchurch Seattle Sister City Committee for more than 25 years, including six years as Chairperson. Brian also helped to build a strong relationship between personnel of the Antarctic support programme ‘Operation Deep Freeze’ and the city beginning in 1972, when the support was provided by the United States Navy, and latterly with the USAF C-17 crews based at McChord Air Force Base near Seattle. He has also worked to foster relationships with China locally, particularly encouraging cultural exchanges. Following the Canterbury earthquakes, he assisted the people of Seattle and Wuhan (China) to purchase a fast response ambulance for St John. Brian has been an active participant in Neighbourhood Watch programmes and has donated legal and notarial services to new immigrants and people seeking to adopt children from overseas.

John Humphries (1983) is a veteran of Sinai, East Timor, Bougainville, Afghanistan and Timor-Leste. He has recently competed in Ironman and Ultraman events (triathlons of 226km and 515km respectively of swimming, cycling and running) to raise funds for the Children of the Fallen Heroes. Christchurch innovator,

Milton Bloomfield (1991) designed the steering wheel for Team New Zealand's successful America's Cup boat. The wheel is an integral part of nautical machinery and Milton constructed five carbon fibre wheels for Team New Zealand’s campaign. It is not the first time products designed and made by Milton have appeared on the world stage. In 2004 he designed a graphic frame bike ridden by Sarah Ulmer at the Athens Olympics, where she won a gold medal and set a new world record.

Mitchell MacDonald (1995) and Heather Andersen (2005) were contestants in the 2017 season of My Kitchen Rules New Zealand, placing second overall.

James Munro (2004) made his Mitre 10 Cup referee debut for the Otago and Manawatu match in September.

Rhett Ellison (2005) is gearing up for his sixth season in the National Football League (NFL) in the United States. After five years with the Minnesota Vikings, Rhett recently signed a four-year deal with the New York Giants. For someone who was unsure if he would be selected in the 2012 draft, Ellison has established himself in the cut-throat NFL league, where the average career span is just over three years. Rhett is just the third New Zealander to play in the NFL. His father Riki Ellison is a three-time Super Bowl winner with the San Francisco 49ers.

Tasman prop, Tim Perry (2006) was named in the All Blacks squad of 37 for its Northern Hemisphere tour. Old Collegian rowers are lighting up the world stage.

Robbie Manson (2007) set a new world record in the Men's Single Sculls A final, at the World Rowing Cup II in Poznan, Poland, and also won gold at the World Rowing Cup III event in Lucerne, Switzerland. He went on to finish fifth at the World Championships in Saratosa, USA. Fellow Old Collegian John Storey (2005) and his New Zealand crew mate, Chris Harris, won gold in the Men's Double Sculls at the World Championships in the USA, after winning gold at Poznan and bronze in Lucerne.

Matthew McAtamney (2008) won the title of Rural Bachelor of the Year at this year’s National Fieldays. Matthew, a deer and beef farm manager, had to compete in a series of challenges which included fencing, cooking, dog handling, fitness and quad bike riding to take home the ‘Golden Boot’ and prizes.

Ellie Haines (2009) is a social media influencer, who is helping over 140,000 people to embrace themselves through her blog platform 'Loving Ellie’s Belly'.

Richie Mo'unga (2012) has had a great rugby season. He was a member of the Canterbury Crusaders team, which claimed the Super Rugby Championship, and was a star player in Canterbury’s win over Tasman in the NPC final. Richie was also selected for the Barbarians team and was called into the All Blacks squad as cover for the test match against Australia in October.

Dancer Joshua Guillemot-Rodgerson (2013) has gained his first professional contract with the Houston Ballet.

Ben Murray (2013) played with the Inveraray and Districts Pipe Band which has had a fantastic year, being crowned 2017 World Champions, after also winning the European and Scottish (Grade 1) Championships.

At the New Zealand Highland Dancing Championships, Lewis Gibson (2013) won the prestigious title of 18 Years and Over New Zealand Champion of Champions. He competed in over 10 events during the three day competition, winning four individual New Zealand Championship titles in addition to the overall title.

Charlotte Elley (2014) was vicecaptain of the New Zealand U21 team which won the Netball World Youth Cup title in Botswana, winning a thrilling final against Australia 60–57.

Harrison Allan (2015) was selected for the New Zealand U20 rugby team.

Laurence Darling (2015) has been awarded player of the year for the Canterbury U21 hockey team.

Tom McGowan (2015) was called up for the Futsal Whites for a three game series against New Caledonia.

Mason Kennedy (2015) played for the New Zealand Ice Blacks ice hockey team against Australia.

Lucia Kennedy (2016) is the only Kiwi to make the global semi-finals of the Super Happiness Challenge to promote happiness using technology. She was inspired to enter the challenge after attending the Singularity University forum on disruptive technology last year.

Ari Graham (2016) was selected for the New Zealand Triathlon team to compete at the Elite Junior race at the World Triathlon Championships.

Harrison Bradley (2017) has recently been accepted into the Australian Ballet School, one of the world's elite ballet training programmes. Harrison trained full-time before his audition in Melbourne. Gaining a place in this highly prestigious programme is an incredible accomplishment.

Ferrari junior driver Marcus Armstrong (2018) secured the 2017 Italian Formula 4 title with two races to spare. This is Marcus’s first full season in open wheel racing after being inducted into the elite Ferrari Driver Academy late last year.

Isaac Giesen (2010) is set to be the first New Zealander to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean, a feat widely regarded as one of the world’s most intense physical and mental challenges. Isaac is rowing against the odds and the weather to raise money for the fight against depression, after losing an aunty and two close friends to suicide. This is an amazing cause, so please visit the link below and support Isaac’s incredible quest. http://thebluerower.com/

Stewart Dowding (2011) is a Bioengeering PhD student, who as a result of a joint research collaboration between the University of Canterbury and IBM Research, was invited to travel to the United States to be a summer intern with IBM’s Yorktown lab, to build models and perform simulations in order to develop better computer modelling for the human brain.

Morgyn Cowan (2012) was selected for the New Zealand Universities rugby team.

Carlos Garcia Knight (2014) claimed bronze in the Men's Slopestyle World Cup event at Cardrona ski field during the Winter Games. Three Old Collegians were presented with Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Awards by the Governor General at two official ceremonies – Oliver Fitzhardinge (2016) and Alice Gualter (2016) at Government House in August, and Bridget Watson (2014) at Dunedin in September.